Maggie rekindles her creative spark with TAFE Queensland

In the wake of the devastating 2022 Northern Rivers floods, she and her family left their Mullumbimby home to start again in Brisbane.

“I’d been in support of my husband’s furniture-making craft, and in the background for years looking after our children,” Maggie said.

“With my children in high school and my husband retiring, I decided it was time to follow my passion for storytelling.”

A creative at heart, Maggie’s early career was in theatre, where she wrote, performed, and worked with communities in remote areas of Australia.

After raising her family and helping run her family’s timber furniture business, she knew it was time to reconnect with the arts, so she turned to TAFE Queensland to help her do that.

Maggie enrolled in the Diploma of Screen and Media (Directing) (CUA51020) at TAFE Queensland’s Mt Gravatt campus - a bold move for someone who admitted she didn’t even know how to turn on the computer when she started.

“I was very nervous but also excited to be delving into something completely unknown. I had worked in scripting and performance before, but never in film, or as a director.

Despite her limited technical skills, Maggie quickly found a supportive and collaborative environment where everyone brought something unique to the table.

“There was a lot of brainstorming and collective problem-solving. My classmates were eager and interesting, and the support from the teachers was phenomenal. I loved their stories as professionals in the film industry. I genuinely loved going to class every day,” she said.

 Maggie credits TAFE Queensland for providing the support, technical skills, and creative environment essential to working in the screen and media industry.

From week one, the course threw Maggie into the world of filmmaking - scriptwriting, casting, lighting, directing, sound, and post-production.

Taught by industry experts, the advanced qualification gave her hands-on learning experience in directing, camera operation, lighting, sound recording, video editing, writing, and producing.

The practical training allowed Maggie to develop skills vital to the film, television, and digital content industries.

She gained real-world experience through live theatre broadcasts and collaborative projects with acting students - opportunities she describes as exciting and empowering.

Working hands-on with industry-standard equipment like Apple Macs and multicam setups in the Mt Gravatt campus amphitheatre, Maggie quickly learned to translate her storytelling skills from stage to screen.

“TAFE Queensland’s training is incredibly hands-on. The learning was reinforced across units, and we were guided every step of the way,” she said.

“It was such a great experience to work with these facilities. I’m still learning, but the diploma gave me a fantastic foundation.”

The highlight of Maggie’s studies was creating her first short film, Move Over, a dark comedy exploring Australia’s housing crisis through a satirical lens.

Inspired by her own struggles to secure housing after the floods, Maggie asked herself: What happens to those without savings or family and friends to support them? The result was a bold, funny, and thought-provoking student film that resonated with festival audiences.

“Seeing a positive reaction to my film at festivals was a wonderful validation of all the hard work. It wouldn’t have been possible without all the support I received from my TAFE Queensland teachers and classmates,” she said.

Since graduating, Maggie has invested in her cinema camera and continues developing her filmmaking skills.

She’s working on another short film to refine her cinematography and is writing a feature-length thriller she hopes to bring to life.

“I don’t have as much time as a younger person to work my way up the film industry ladder, so I have to get on with it now!” she said.

“But thanks to TAFE Queensland, I feel confident enough to make my own films. I’m proof that it’s never too late to chase your creative dreams - and with the right support, anything is possible,” Maggie concluded.